Only Time Apart
by ClassicJest
Summary: Au where Caspar lives in the modern day, and travels back in time, where the rest of the cast is.
1. Chapter 1

"And don't forget to hand in your permission slips for the field trip on Friday!" Mrs. Bergliez said, trying to get in one last word before the bell rang and the classroom turned into a competition of who could leave the fastest.

_Does going to the library even really count as a field trip?_ Caspar thought. He'd never really been all too interested in reading. _Oh well, _he shrugged on his backpack and began making his way to the exit, and then home.

Currently his class had been writing essays on historical researchers. It had been overall very boring, as essays typically are. Only the really nerdy kids had taken it seriously. So, in an effort to get them to actually care, Mrs. Bergliez was going to be taking her students on a field trip to the local library.

By the time he got home, Caspar was tired out. His school didn't have enough money to afford more buses than necessary, although apparently his definition of necessary and the school's definition of necessary were a lot different, because he would be tired out by the walk every time. Caspar was a sporty guy, too.

* * *

"Aw, hey there lil' fella," Caspar closed and locked the door to his house, then knelt down to pet the head of the cat he was addressing, a small grey tabby. He looked up at the clock across the kitchen.

_4:30 _

_Darn. Missed 4:20._

The cat seemed to have lost interest in being pet, so Caspar got up and went to his room. Upon arrival, he shut the door and leapt onto the bed as if the whole scenario was rehearsed. He finally gathered up the energy to sit up and turn on his television and grab the remote, only to flop back down immediately after. He flipped around the channels, finally settling on reruns of Naruto.

* * *

_What the…_

He took a moment to rub his eyes and take in his surroundings. _Great, _it was already 6:00 PM, as made clear by the alarm clock on his nightstand.

Someone was pounding on his bedroom door. "Come in!"

And that was evidently what that someone did, because it was revealed to be his father, who had gotten home from work likely a few moments ago.

He wore a skeptical look, surveying what was in front of him. "Were you… sleeping?" He turned around and left before Caspar could answer.

_I guess I was. _Caspar flipped his legs off the edge of the bed, and made his way to the door that his father had occupied moments ago.

He walked over to the kitchen, where the rest of his family were seated at the table. His mother and brother must have not cared enough to check up on him when she got home, because his mother had just finished setting out dinner.

"So, Jeffrey, how did you math test go?" His mother gave Caspar a look from the corner of her eyes that reeked of "I'm not mad, just disappointed"

"It went excellently mother, I got 100%" His brother Jeffrey said.

His mother looked straight at Caspar now. "You should try to be a little more like Jeffrey, dear," she smiled, but it was like feeding chocolate to a puppy; cute on the surface, but terribly upsetting to those who know better.

"I'll try." _I'm not an idiot, I won't even bother. _

You can't please people who just want you to be someone you aren't. This is a fact Caspar was reminded of time and time again. It was always "Jeffrey this" or "Jeffrey that". In Caspar's mind, it's better to not have to live up to someone else's expectations. That doesn't mean it doesn't sting, though.

* * *

Friday morning came quick. It felt like only yesterday Caspar was laying in bed watching Naruto. Probably because it was yesterday.

"Alright class, I want you all to remember to be respectful of the books," Mrs. Bergliez began.

Caspar tuned out the rest of her little speech. It was ridiculous they had to listen to this, most of the class was 15. Except Caspar, he had gotten held back a grade, so he was 16.

It seemed he had tuned back into what Mrs. Bergliez was saying just in time, because she was telling everyone to go and check out whatever they wanted.

Caspar decided to go to a section that had some knights on the cover of the books. If he had to be here, he may as well make the most of it.

He picked one at random. _Important People Of The 12th Century. _

_Not ideal, but whatever._

He flipped through the book until he found something interesting. _Old guy, painting, painting of an old guy, random horse, another old guy, why are there so many old guys, painting of a dragon, wait a minute go back to the painting of a dragon._

And that he did, only to be mildly disappointed when the caption stated it was an illustration of a dragon from Linhardt Von Herving's writing. _Oh well, what did I expect, real dragons? _He decided to check out the page anyway.

_Linhardt Von Herving is most well known for his work on "The Sea Of Time", a story featuring a man who went back in time to be united with the love of his life. Not much is known about his personal life, aside from that he was almost always in the company of his friend (name unknown). Featured here is a painting of him done by Ignatz Victor, a man who attended the Garreg Mach Academy at the same time as Von Herving._

He looked at the image of the painting, and _gosh_, he didn't know if the artist was being flattering when he painted this, but that man was gorgeous.

He checked the rest of the book, but there was nothing else about this Linhardt guy.

_Maybe…._

He checked, and luck wasn't on his side, because they didn't have The Sea Of Time in their collection.


	2. Chapter 2

Caspar couldn't remember a time when he felt so eager to get home.

The second he opened the door to his house, he went to his room and powered on his brother's old computer his parents had given Caspar when his brother wanted a new one.

After a quick google search, it was surprisingly easy to find The Sea Of Time posted on the internet. _I guess they didn't really have copyright law in the 12th century._

* * *

Caspar finally checked the time after impulse reading the entirety of the book he had been so desperate to find.

_6:18_

He had spent almost 2 hours reading it. Luckily for him, his dad seemed to have been running late getting home from work, so he wasn't met by a snotty look again.

The story had been about a man who convinced himself he could travel back in time, and by doing that he allowed himself to go back to the 12th century. That was kind of odd, considering that the book was written in the 12th century, but that did not subtract from the quality at all.

The rest of the night was a blur in Caspar's mind. For the whole time he was only thinking about the story he had read. He kept picturing himself as the protagonist, and how he would feel if he was the one who went back in time. It wasn't too hard to know how it felt to be in love with someone in the past, because that painting of the author, Linhardt, had given him a little crush. He could just imagine Linhardt putting thought into each little sentence.

Still, he couldn't really call that love, because he had never met the man and he barely knew anything about him.

_Well, maybe I could meet him… No, that's stupid and dumb. _

Even though he knew it was stupid, he couldn't get the thought out of going back in time and meeting Linhardt out of his head.

The only thing he could really process other than that was the constant criticism from his parents, especially his mother. _Well, if I did meet him, I wouldn't miss anyone. And if it didn't work, then no harm done, right?_

_Right._

* * *

The story wasn't all that clear on how the man had gone back in time. Sure, it said that he convinced himself, but it didn't elaborate much. So Caspar was lying in bed at 3:53 AM, going on and on to himself about how he could go back in time,

_No… I don't truly believe I can do it. If I did do it, I would have let myself know, right?_

Caspar really wanted to believe that this was going to happen. _Maybe the picture, _something within him said. So, he searched until he found that very picture from the book he read at the library. And right there, in the corner of the image, written in small, faded letters, was the name _Caspar._

"I really am going to do it." Caspar said to someone who wasn't there. "I really am."


	3. Chapter 3

Caspar eventually fell asleep. He never stayed up past 9:00 pm on a good day, so staying up until 5:00 really did a number on him

"Wake up, please…"

"5 more minutes, please…." Caspar responded. He heard a sigh of relief afterwards.

Wait, who was talking to him? Caspar's eyes snapped open. Standing above him was a teenage girl with pretty brown hair cascading down her shoulders, wearing a hat that Caspar could've sworn he'd only seen on golf fields before.

"I was worried you had died! I thought you were one of the drunk men who usually come here, but you're clearly too young… What are you doing back here?" the girl said, cracks of worry slipping through her mostly calm demeanor.

"Uh, this might sound stupid, but I don't really know… What year is it?" Caspar said, a bit sheepishly.

"It's 1180. You must've hit your head. Here, come inside." She turned around and started walking towards what was probably a house.

Caspar got up, and it was only then that he noticed that he was naked, sans a fancy looking towel the girl must've given to him.

_I really did make it._ He tried to suppress a giggle, but it still came out. It was just so exciting!

The girl turned around for a moment,"What are you laughing about?" then she quickly turned her face away when she noticed Caspar was in fact, still naked. "Put the towel on, please!"

"Oh, sorry!" Caspar did as she asked him to, then started to catch up to where she was walking. It wasn't a house like he had thought, it was plenty bigger and seemed a lot fancier from the outside.

"I'm not actually supposed to bring you in here, so be quiet and just follow me." she whispered to him, holding the door open.

Caspar stepped into the building. It was still rather difficult to tell what it was, but he could tell now that it certainly wasn't a house. He followed the girl until they arrived at a door with the name _Dorothea _on it. She opened the door, and just as quickly shut it immediately after she and Caspar entered the room. The room appeared to be a dressing room, full of vibrantly coloured dresses and fancy shoes.

"I don't think Dorothea would want us sneaking into her room." Caspar whispered, after taking a seat on the floor.

"What are you talking about?" the girl had walked over to behind where the dresses were.

"It says Dorothea on the door, so I just assumed it was her room." the girl hadn't spoken in a whisper, so Caspar didn't either.

She turned to him and while her eyes said that she was unimpressed, her smile told a different story. "I'm Dorothea. Dorothea Arnault."

"Oh!"

Caspar tried for a moment to figure out why he felt so awkward. _That's it. _

"My name is Caspar." he said, proud that he figured out the source of the awkwardness.

She turned to him with the same look again. "And your last name is?"

That pride was immediately retracted. _Uh…._

"Bergliez. Bergliez is my last name." _Why did the first name to come out have to be my teacher's name?_

"Ah, I see." At least Dorothea seemed proud of herself for getting that information out of him. "I was worried you'd forgotten even your name!"

"Why would I have forgotten my name?" Caspar asked, "and what are you even doing over there?"

Dorothea seemed to have had enough of this game of "_Look back, Look forth" _so she didn't bother to look. "Well, you obviously hit your head. You didn't know the year, you didn't know where you where, you struggled to remember your last name, and - this is a may be a little self centered, but - you didn't know who I am, and I'm pretty damn popular around here! Pardon my language. Also, I'm getting you some clothes. Sorry, but you'll have to wear women's clothes for now. I don't have any men's." she looked back at him, "But I think they'll fit, you're not all too big."

"Hey!"

She handed him a white ruffled blouse and what looked to be poppy-red shorts. "Sorry, these are the best I've really got for you. Hopefully the bloomers can pass as shorts."

* * *

_I look ridiculous._

The clothes were loose enough that they made him look like a boy. Only downside was that he looked like he was 12.

"Well, take what you can get. Less is better than more! Here, you can have this jacket, one of my dates left it here, it might make you look a bit more masculine." She gave him a black suit-coat.

"I look like a ballroom cooked up in a stew." Caspar groaned out.

"Well, you better get used to it, I don't know if they'll let you into the Officer's academy with that attitude." Dorothea's words were coated with smugness, but had an underlying worry to them. "Look, I know what it's like to be a commoner. To not know anything of what's going on around you, and to not have any control over your life. It's a miracle that I got out of it, and I'm trying to do the same for you. So please," she looked over her shoulder to him, "try to be a bit nicer about it."

"Look, I'm sorry Dorothea. I shouldn't have been so whiny." Caspar said, head hung in shame. "Wait, what was that about the Officer's academy?"

"Oh right. You see," Dorothea spun around to look at him. "I'm friends with one of the professors at this big church academy called Garreg Mach. It costs a fair bit to get in, but they basically take care of your completely in the time you go there. In fact, tonight I'm taking a carriage there. I was thinking that I can't just let you go out on the street like that, not remembering a thing! So, maybe you would want to come along?"

"I don't have the money for that kind of thing! Weren't you just going on about how you know what it's like to be poor? It sounds awesome, though, so I really wish I could go!" Caspar said.

"Oh Caspar, I would be paying for you to go." Dorothea said, the fondness in her eyes reminded him of what he'd seen on older siblings in family movies. Jeffrey never looked so kindly to him, though.

"Really?"

Dorothea nodded.

"I'd love to go!" Caspar practically shouted.

"Keep your voice down!"


	4. Chapter 4

The carriage finally arrived at Garreg Mach. Caspar had slept through the ride, so it felt like nothing to him.

_Wow. _

The main building was huge! It reminded Caspar of the type of castles he'd seen in movies. There were a lot of students who had just arrived at around the same time as them.

"I can't even see the highest part…" Caspar said, mostly to himself.

"It probably doesn't help that you're short"

"Hey!" Caspar said jokingly. "Anyways, I don't really want to go in like this, at least not for very long."

"Well, we've only got to go in and see that professor I was telling you about. Her name's Manuela. She should probably have a spare uniform or two, hopefully one in your size. I'll warn you though, there's probably going to be a lot of students there picking up their uniforms."

"Sounds great!" Caspar smiled. He wanted to get out of this sorry excuse for shorts as soon as possible.

"It should only take around 40 minutes, so don't worry." Dorothea said.

"Sounds… great." Caspar tried to fake a smile.

It clearly did not work, but it only really got a laugh out of Dorothea. "I'm just messing with you. It should take only 20 minutes."

"Well, that's a bit better.

* * *

The walk through the monastery was horrible. It was only around 10 minutes of walking, but it felt like each step took an hour. He could feel people staring at him.

Some girl with pink hair laughed at his misfortune. Another girl, who looked like she hadn't seen a bed in months, quieted her down. A boy with gray hair looked at him with pity. Another boy, with the ugliest haircut he'd ever seen, raised his head up like a snob when he passed.

Luckily it didn't seem like that many people had arrived quite yet, or everyone was somewhere else, because he didn't see many people other than them.

He couldn't completely blame those who judged, he did look pretty ridiculous. If it weren't for the dirt on his skin, he would've looked like some rich toddler who was playing dress-up.

Eventually they arrived in Manuela's office. They seemed to have arrived at the perfect time, because the room was empty.

Caspar didn't really notice, his eyes seemed to find the ground to be the most interesting thing at the moment.

"Dorothea! It's been ages!" a woman who he assumed to be Manuela gave Dorothea a hug.

"I know! I've hardly seen you since you left Mittelfrank! Dorothea ended the hug.

"So…. Who's that?" Manuela gestured to Caspar.

"Well, you see, I found him passed out outside of Mittelfrank just yesterday. He doesn't remember much, just his name, I think."

Manuela walked over to him. "Aw, poor thing! Mind if I do a bit of a checkup? You probably hit your head pretty hard, or you were cursed."

Caspar raised his hands up in a shrug. "I've got no problem with that." _I guess they probably did believe in curses and stuff in the eleven-hundreds._

"So anyways, I brought him inside and gave him some clothes." Dorothea said.

"I can see that, dear. Not sure anyone would purposefully dress themselves like this."

Caspar chuckled a bit.

"It doesn't really look like he's hit his head..."

"So, Manuela… I was hoping that, maybehecouldattendgarregmach? Dorothea ducked her head like a turtle.

"I'm sorry, could you repeat that?"

"Maybe he could attend Garreg Mach academy? You know I can't just leave him on his own! Plus I brought the money!"

"Slow down, Dorothea! I have no objection to him attending. I mean, I don't know if he'll be allowed, this is pretty last minute… But I'll go ask Seteth. Stay right here."

_It isn't like I have anywhere else to go._

* * *

Manuela came back not too long after with two people, a man with green hair, and a woman with lighter green hair, and the most complicated dress Caspar had ever seen.

"So, what do you think, Lady Rhea?" Said the green-haired man who Caspar now assumed was Seteth.

"Any opportunity for someone to learn about the goddess is important. It does not matter whether he is wealthy or poor. He may attend." Lady Rhea left with Seteth seconds after giving her answer.

_If it really doesn't matter if I'm rich or not, then why does it cost so much to attend?_

Dorothea sighed dramatically. "Thank goodness!"


	5. Chapter 5

Fortunately they did have a few spare uniforms left at the monastery. Unfortunately, they were too big for Caspar, so he and one of the staff members went out to a tailor, causing Caspar to miss the first day of class. Laundry was only done once a week, so Caspar had to stand perfectly still while the tailor, well, tailored him a uniform for each day of the week and a spare. The second he got back to Garreg mach he practically sprinted to his dorm room and flopped straight onto the mattress.

His moment of relaxation was interrupted by a knock on the door. "Come in!"

It was Dorothea!

"How's it going?" She politely closed the door behind herself and took a seat at the desk across from the bed.

"Not bad." Caspar said. "Did you need something?"

Dorothea smiled. "Seeing as you missed the first day, Manuela sent me to get the information she needs to work on your lesson plan. Also, I just wanted to check in on you."

"Oh, Manuela's our teacher?" Caspar tilted his head, similarly to a puppy.

Dorothea nodded.

"So what is it she needs to know?"

"What kind of weapon you want to use, how good you are with it, how much you know about tactics, just basic stuff like that." Dorothea shrugged as if this was what a 9 year old child should know.

"Uhhhh…"

Realization flashed in Dorothea's eyes. "Oh, yeah. I guess you wouldn't really know." she chuckled a little at her own obliviousness. "Is there a weapon you'd prefer?"

"Hmm, well, I think axes are pretty cool! But usually, I just punch things. Also, I know nothing about tactics."

"Alright, I think that's pretty much all she needs to know for now. I may as well take my leave, there's not much left to talk about." Dorothea stood and tucked in her chair. "Oh, and, Caspar,"

Caspar looked up at her from the bed he had yet to move from.

"Tomorrow I'll introduce you to someone who can guide you around here. I would help you out myself, but I don't want men thinking I'm dating you."

Caspar nodded, and with that Dorothea left.

* * *

By the time Caspar woke up, the sun was still rising too.

_Well, guess I better make the most of the day before class._

Caspar got dressed into one of his uniforms and decided to explore around the monastery.

"Hey kitty!" Caspar knelt down to pet a small cat in front of his dorm. Once the cat lost interest, Caspar got back up, only to notice two _huuuuge _black doors to his left. He practically sprinted over to check them out.

_Hmm…_

He pushed on them, not expecting them to budge, only to stumble forwards a little when they moved. He looked around behind himself, then slipped into the room, when all of a sudden…..

_Oh. It's just a training room or something._

There were only a handful of students there, two boys and a girl by the looks of it. Caspar took a seat on the steps that led into the main section. One of the boys, who had hair the color of a raven's feathers, was using a wooden sword to somehow slash up what looked like a dummy while the other two argued. Caspar thought the boy who was training looked a bit sad, so he decided to initiate conversation with him.

"Woah! You're awesome with that sword! Your dad must've been a knight, or maybe your brother, or something!" Caspar said, flashing an enthusiastic smile.

The sword the boy was using broke into two on the next hit. The boy turned his head to Caspar. "_Excuse me?_"

The other two students looked at Caspar, then the boy, then Caspar, eyes so wide they must've been the size of dinner plates.

"I said your brother or dad or something must've been a knight, because-"

One of the students who was arguing, turned to the boy with the broken sword. "Woah there, Felix, let's not jump to conclusions, I'm sure he didn't know-"

"_**How dare you even mention him.**_"

The girl who was arguing looked pretty mad too. Well, maybe pretty mad was an understatement. Because Caspar felt like he was on his way to death's door.

Caspar started backing up "I'm sorry if that was sensitive, I just wanted to compliment you. Now, If you don't mind me, I'm just going to.."

And with that, Caspar ran for his life. Ran out the black doors, ran past the dorms, turned his head back for a moment, then ran past-_Thud._

Caspar stopped in his tracks. In front of his feet was a boy with silver hair and eyes the color of a granny smith apple, with books scattered all around him.

…

…

_Well don't just stand there, Caspar! Do something!_

"Damn it! I'm so sorry man, are you alright?" Caspar squatted down and offered the boy a hand.

"Yes, I'm fine. Are you okay? The silver-haired boy accepted his hand, and brought himself up to his feet.

"Who cares how I feel, I literally knocked you to the ground!" Caspar began collecting the books that seemed to have gotten knocked down with the polite boy. The boy knelt down beside him and gave him a hand.

"Thanks, uh….. I don't think I caught your name." The boy chuckled softly to himself.

"Oh! Right! Sorry about that. Ha." Caspar smiled at him like a dope.

"Right." The boy looked at him. "So your name is?"

"Oh! I'm so stupid, ha. It's Caspar."

The boy's smile fell. "Hey, don't say that about yourself! You aren't stupid, everyone has moments like that!" He smiled again, "My name's Ashe."

Caspar felt oddly touched that Ashe cared enough to say that about someone he'd just met. "That's a pretty name."

Ashe blushed and looked away. "Oh, um."

_Wait, aw, damn, did I say that out loud?_

"Hi Ashie, you know how I was telling you about -" Dorothea, who had just made her presence known, leaned forward from the fishing dock she was coming towards them from.

"Oh, Hi Caspar! I was actually just about to introduce you two!" Dorothea giggled softly.

Realization flashed on Ashe's face. "Oh! I knew I recognized you from somewhere! I think I saw you walking into Professor Manuela's office a few days ago!"

Caspar's shoes were super interesting all of a sudden. "Yes, that would be me."

"Oh, I'm sorry if that was sensitive. I know what it's like, I was there once."

Caspar's eyes narrowed. "To Manuela's office?"

Ashe laughed. Caspar swore to never forget that laugh. "No, I meant I couldn't afford nice clothes and other things along those lines." Ashe's laugh seemed to have faded. He tilted his head sweetly. "If you ever need any help, just ask me." Ashe's eyes drifted away. "And if you want to be friends, just ask me."

Caspar smiled brightly. "Do you think we could be friends?"

Ashe's laugh returned, albeit a bit softer. "I think so."


	6. Chapter 6

Caspar ended up missing class again. Apparently, the time he had woken up was not very early. It was only around 20 minutes until class began, but the whole interaction with the angry boy, and his interaction with Ashe took up more time than 20 minutes. Fortunately, it was only archery practice, and Caspar had no interest in archery.

"Oh, Caspar, do you want to join me in the dining hall?" Ashe asked.

"Sure!" Caspar began to follow Ashe.

"Oh, I'm not going yet, I have to put these books back in my dorm."

"Oh." Caspar's face flushed pink, embarrassed by the miscommunication.

"You can come with me if you wank, though!" Ashe sent out a metaphoric lifeboat for Caspar.

And there was no way Caspar wasn't going to take the hand given to him. "Sure! Oh, and I can give you a hand with your books."

Ashe nodded, then handed Caspar a stack of hard-cover novels. Judging by the covers, they were about knights, but Caspar did know the saying "_Don't judge a book by it's cover"_ so he couldn't be too sure. There was one quick and easy way to be sure though. "Knight books?"

Ashe started walking, "Yeah, _Loog and the Maiden of Wind_. I'm surprised you don't recognise them. Most of my classmates read them when we were younger. Do you read much, Caspar?"

"No, not really."

"Oh, well you might still like _Loog_, though. I won't spoil it for you if you want to borrow it." Ashe smiled a little smile.

"Sure, I'll borrow it." Caspar smiled a large smile. It would be a waste to say no when Ashe was so hopeful.

* * *

.

They dropped the books off in Ashe's dorm room, then walked until they arrived at the dining hall. The room was huge - Caspar was beginning to notice that was a trend around Garreg Mach.

"Here, you can just follow me." Ashe walked ahead to where a few ladies stood behind a counter of sorts, where Caspar followed him.

"See Ignatz? There aren't that many people!" A muscular man from the entrance said, looking over his shoulder.

_Wait, is that a student's uniform!?_

"Rapheal looks really strong, right?" Ashe said.

"Yeah." Caspar said, still in awe.

_I'll have to ask him how he got so ripped!_

"Here's your meal." One of the ladies behind the counter said, handing two dishes that looked mostly made of fish to Ashe and Caspar.

Ashe started walking over to one of the tables, where Caspar followed him. There were many students around, and teachers too by the looks of it. Caspar sat next to Ashe, who had chosen to sit across from a blonde boy and a much taller… man? It was hard to tell if this guy was 30 or 17, grey hair aside.

"_Don't stare." _Ashe whispered to Caspar. He put back on a smile, "Hello!"

The blonde boy, who kind of looked like the cheese-strings mascot, nodded to him with a smile.

"Good to see you, Ashe." Said the other student.

Caspar decided to look at his surroundings while Ashe had a little chat. First thing that caught his eye was the couple of students approaching their table - which were a red haired boy and a blonde girl, who looked familiar.

Caspar gulped when he realized that the reason they looked familiar was because they were the students who were in the training area. Caspar backed up his chair a bit to leave.

"Oh, I forgot to introduce you! Caspar, this is Dimitri and Dedue, they're in my class. Dimitri is the Blue Lions house leader and Dedue is his vassal. Dimitri and Dedue, this is Caspar." Ashe smiled. There was no getting away now.

"Oh um, nice to meet you guys."

Cheese-string boy nodded. It was unclear whether he was Dimitri or Dedue.

The red haired boy - Sylvester, was it? - sat down first. "Heya Ashe." He winked, but then he noticed Caspar. "I just realized that I have somewhere important to be. Goodbye-"

"Wait, let me introduce you to Caspar! Caspar, this is Sylvain. He's also in my class. Sylvain, this is Caspar."

Sylvain nodded, then left. The blonde girl who was behind him seemed to take his cue and followed him.

"Huh. That was rather odd, Sylvain isn't usually like that unless he sees a girl he's dumped. Sylvain wouldn't happened to have gone out with you, Caspar?" Cheese-string said, then laughed.

The other guy smiled, and Ashe laughed too.

Caspar smiled for a moment, not quite getting the joke. "Actually," Ashe and the other two looked over to him. "I definitely did something wrong, but I don't really know what exactly."

Ashe looked confused. "What happened?"

"Well, I went to that training place,"

"The training grounds." Cheese-string interjected.

"Right. Well, I went to the training grounds, and I saw some guy training, while Sylvain and some girl were arguing. He looked lonely, so I told him that his dad or brother or whatever must've been a knight because he was doing awesome with the sword, which caused him to look at me with a death-stare, so I said sorry and I ran away. Still don't know what I did wrong though."

Ashe, Cheese-string and the other guy looked nervous. "What did the boy who was training look like?" Cheese-string asked.

"Well, he was 'round your height, and had black hair tied up in a ponytail."

The other guy looked away. Cheese-string's eyebrows were raised, but the corners of his mouth were not. Ashe looked shocked.

"Caspar…" Ashe leaned a bit closer to him. "That's Felix. His brother, who was a knight, was killed in the Tragedy of Duscur."

"Damn." Caspar shook his head slowly. "I really messed up."

"It's okay, you didn't know. Just… be a bit more careful about that sort of thing. A lot of kids here are missing some of their relatives." Ashe looked a little bit less somber. "And don't take it too personally- Felix hates everyone."

"Especially me." Cheese-string laughed.

"Me as well." the other student nodded.

Cheese-string held up a finger. "Well, I've only ever heard him be kind to Annette."

"That's true!" Ashe laughed.


	7. Chapter 7

Caspar didn't get any sleep that night.

Instead, he'd laid down in bed, comfy as he could be on a mattress made mostly of what he'd guess was hay and fabric scraps.

He listened to the whistling of the wind outside his door, a nice, cold breeze to compensate for how awful hot it was.

All he did was think about how crazy this whole situation was.

_Is this just a hallucination? Am I dead?_

No matter what it was, he could only assume he'd never see his family again, and he'd never see his home again, and he'd never see his cat again, and he'd- Well, there would be a lot of things he'd never see again.

It was bittersweet, really. All he wanted to do when he was back home was leave and never have to deal with the expectations of his parents, neglect, and his brother's annoyingly smug voice. Not that he'd want to see them again, but just the thought that his old life was done was a really scary thought.

He sighed, a thing that he didn't do often.

Even though it was the end of one life, it was still the beginning of a new one. One where he'd make a name for himself, and he'd only hang out with people that actually cared about him.

Or, he'd die of polio, or he would be murdered, or any number of things could happen.

_Wait, that could happen even if I wasn't in the olden days._

He tried once more to get some shuteye, but he just couldn't. Finally, he had had enough of this annoying restlessness, and made a decision.

He got out of bed, got dressed, and walked out the door.

Caspar practically sprinted all the way down to his right, letting the wind blow over him. He finally stopped running when he made it to the fishing pond, and just took a moment to take it all in.

The sky was a deep, deep blue, like the ocean, with all of the stars shining. The reflection of the moon on the pond was bright and glorious, even if it was only a crescent at the moment. Everything was almost still, yet the wind made things look unsettling, as if it was all alive. Caspar walked over to the message board on the side of the little shack by the dock and read some of the requests people were making, for things like fish, and asking people to find their lost things.

_I really did travel through time._

_Man, I'm awesome,_

He walked a little bit further past the fishing ponds when he spotted a knight standing by the entrance, at which point only one word could go through his mind.

_Curfew._

Yes, indeed, curfew. There was no telling on what the rules were here, and Caspar wasn't about to take the risk of getting punished for being out too late. He ran back to his dorm room, walked in, and sat down on the bed.

* * *

.

.

The three knocks on his door woke him up.

Caspar whined, his muscles aching from the sheer stupidity of his sleeping position. Apparently falling asleep with your shoes on and your legs crossed was not a great idea. "Who is it?"

"It's Ashe."

Caspar sat up in his bed. "Come in."

And so Ashe did. He took one look at Caspar, then pulled a confused expression. "Were you sleeping with your uniform on? Did you not get one of the lounge wear sets?"

"No, I did get one, I just…" He shook his head at himself. "I ran around outside at, like, three in the morning, for no reason. When I came back I must've just fell asleep."

Ashe let out a sigh. This time, Caspar was the one with the confused expression, so the kind boy explained himself. "Oh, sorry, it's just that I'd heard from a few of my classmates that they heard a ghost laughing last night. But if that was you laughing, then there was no ghost."

Caspar laughed. "What, are you afraid of ghosts?"

Ashe frowned and looked away. "Well, you don't have to make fun of me."

"Oh, I'm sorry. I shouldn't have laughed so soon."

Ashe sat down on the bed next to him. "No, it's fine. Anyways, I just came to-"

"What? No, it's not fine!" Caspar tried to keep his voice down, but obviously failed. Ashe just looked at him, startled. "I mean, uh, you just, uh, don't have to take that."

Ashe laughed a little. "I guess that's true. Well, in that case, I'll say, 'I accept your apology'."

Caspar smiled. "Well, that's better. Anyways, what were you going to say?"

"Oh, well I was going to say that," Ashe put on a professional look, "firstly, you missed the Black Eagles archery class. I would say that it doesn't really matter because you're not an archer, but considering that you haven't even attended a single day of class yet that it _does _matter."

"Alrighty, Mr. Responsible." Caspar yawned and stretched his arms over his head, somehow scraping the back of his hand against the awful untreated wood wall.

The addressed 'Mr Responsible' raised his eyebrows. "Hey, responsibility is important! If you don't attend class, then you might get kicked out of the academy." He shook his head. "Unfortunately, if you're not a noble, they don't really throw you any saving hands."

Caspar shook his head too. "Boy, I'm really saying all the wrong things today. I didn't mean to bring up such a bad topic."

"No, no. It's better you know now then when you're getting sent away. Alright, so, secondly-"

Ashe was interrupted by the growling of Caspar's stomach.

"Maybe we should continue this conversation at the dining hall so that you won't be cut off again." He chuckled awkwardly.

Ashe nodded. "Good thinking!"

Caspar closed his door, then began taking unbuttoning his jacket.

"What are you doing?" By the time Ashe got that sentence out, his face was red and his eyes were wide.

"What?" Caspar's old, gross shirt was already discarded in the corner of his room by that point. "I'm just changing shirts."

Ashe averted his eyes somewhat. "Oh, alright. Well, I'm going to get a head start on the dining hall." Caspar couldn't see it happen due to his new shirt covering his eyes, but he could tell by the creaking of the floors and door that Ashe walked out and left.

_Well, that was weird._


	8. Chapter 8

When Ashe left, Caspar contemplated going after him, but he decided that he would decide later. So here he was again, sitting on his bed, lost in thought.

_This doesn't make any sense._

Last night he obviously wasn't thinking straight. He just, what? Up and decided that him traveling back in time was a thing that could happen? Well, it was more so that he just accepted that he did.

_I must be in a damn coma or something. Seriously, what? This isn't real. This- it isn't real!_

He shut his eyes tight and winced.

When he opened them, he was back in his room. Not his dorm room. His room. In the modern day.

"What just happened?" He spoke to himself, voice in a low whisper.

"_How much of a fool can you be?!" _said the voice of what sounded like a little girl.

Caspar whipped his head around to find the source of the voice, but he couldn't find her. When he looked over his shoulder he realized that he was still in his monastery uniform. "Oh man, I really am going crazy!"

The voice sighed, then he heard the sound of someone's finger's snapping. Everything went black.

* * *

.

.

.

He opened his eyes to see that he was in the middle of a dark abyss. He turned around, and was greeted with the sight of a little girl sitting on a throne, dressed ridiculously, with pointed ears and with way more hair than any child at that age would have.

He screamed. "WHAT IS WRONG WITH ME? WHAT THE HE-"

The girl cut him off with a stern look on her face."Hey, watch your language!"

He clicked his tongue, annoyed. "That's not a swear word!"

"Yes it is! At least, in that context." She rolled her eyes and uncrossed her legs.

Caspar shook his head and looked down. "Look at me… I hallucinated traveling through time, and now I'm arguing with a little girl in my head... "

"_**LITTLE?! **_**I am no little child! I am no child** _**at all!" **_Caspar looked up to see that she was furious. "**I am **_**way **_**older than you!"**

"Well, then why are you so short?" He stuck his tongue out.

"Why are _you _so short?" She stuck her tongue out too.

He thought about it for a moment, then sighed. "Yeah, you're right. 5'3'' is pretty short."

She tilted her chin up and closed her eyes like a snob. "Glad we could come to an agreement. Regardless, I would like you to know how stupid you are."

He waited for her to follow up on that.

She also waited.

He looked away, then back at her. "So, are you going to tell me how stupid, or…?"

_Red. _Her face went absolutely scarlet red with fury, or perhaps just frustration. "Why am I stuck with you? Who could loathe me _that_ much?"

Caspar sighed. "Maybe people wouldn't hate you if you didn't yell so much. Also, you're pretty mean."

She stuck her tongue out again. "Well, thanks to _you, _I don't get to meet people, so I doubt there's anyone that even could hate me 'so much'!"

"Well, I guess I can understand your confusion. If you never meet people, then who would even loathe you?" Caspar nodded.

The girl brought her head into her hands. "Why me?"

"So, I never got a name from you." he said, as if he didn't hear what she just said.

Promptly she sat back up. "Same could be said to you! Well, my name is Sothis, but some people call me 'The Beginning'."

"But you just said you never meet people, so who could call you that?" Caspar decided to sit on the ground, or the void.. or whatever it was.

Sothis swung her head back and groaned dramatically. "Just kill me already."

"Is this like, a riddle? Like the one where it's like," he cleared his throat, "ok, it's like, _a boy gets hit by a car and his dad takes him to the hospital. When they get there, the doctor-"_

She cut him off again. "So, Caspar, what is your name?"

He shook his head and laughed. "Ok, I think we can agree that I'm not being the stupid one this time."

Her face scrunched up angrily, but then, she began to laugh. At herself, at him, who knew?

Caspar stood up. "So, if that's all you had to say, I should get going." he looked around. "Uh… where's the exit?"

Sothis stopped. "Sit. I haven't even said what I meant to say."

He sat. "Well, go on then!"

"Well… Oh, where was I?" She sighed and took a moment to gather her thoughts. "Ah, yes. You, Caspar, are an idiot! I grant you the power to travel trough time, and then you use it to ruin it all! Ashe is probably upset you ditched him!"

He scoffed. "Well, first of all, Ashe ditched _me. _Secondly, have you been stalking me?"

She scoffed this time. "Caspar, I live in your head. Of course I know what's going on! Anyways, although it _is _true Ashe left first, he's probably upset you're not in the dining hall with him yet."

Caspar rolled his eyes and shifted himself to be cross-legged. "As if you could do a better job living my life! All you do is sit here... right?"

She rolled her eyes. "I can do much better than you!" She snapped her fingers.

* * *

.

.

Caspar woke up, disoriented from all of this random time travel or whatever it was. He took in the feeling of grass against his back, and the odd warmth all over him. His eyes opened, and sprawled out on his chest asleep was the most pretty boy he'd ever seen, snoring. Around him was a garden and a gazebo, and he noticed he was propped up against a flower-covered hedge.

"Sothis?" he whispered. He began looking around frantically. "Sothis?" He repeated, no longer a whisper.

He didn't want to ditch the pretty boy- whom Caspar realized quite resembled that Linhardt Von Hevring guy who started this all- so instead of leaving him, Caspar scooped him up bridal-style. The boy didn't stir at all, and if it weren't for the snoring, Caspar would've thought he was dead.

"Sothis?" he walked over past the long, pure green hedge in front of him, and realized he was in the middle of Garreg Mach.

"Sothis!" He began to run. He went inside the entrance beside him. "SOTHIS! WHERE ARE YOU? WHAT'S GOING ON?"

A blue haired man walked up to Caspar, then whacked him on the head with a shovel, promptly knocking him out.

* * *

.

.

Again, he was back in the void with Sothis. The pure blackness felt much emptier now for whatever reason.

"Well? Have you learned your lesson?"

He was near speechless. His mouth gaped open, and he just shrugged. "What do you mean _lesson?!_ How on earth was that supposed to teach me anything?"

"You're hopeless. I just proved that I _can _live your life better than you can!"

Caspar laughed, then put on a smug look. "And getting me knocked out with a shovel proves that _how?"_

"You fool! You were the one who did that!" She swung her legs over the armrest of her throne. "Honestly… You see, I stopped time for your soul, and lived your life for you for a year. I got you the boy of your dreams that you were _lusting _over, that started this whole nonsense. Then, I let you back in your body, and minutes later you got knocked out with a shovel! I think that it _does _prove something!"

His jaw dropped. "W-well, that's not fair!"

"Oh, you're telling _me _what's fair? I have to sit back and watch you do stupid stuff all of the time, and I get to live no life at all! Is _that _fair?" Sothis rolled her eyes and frowned.

Caspar walked right up to her throne and sat down there. "Ok, well, that's completely unrelated to this conversation, so I really don't think that your argument makes sense, like, at all."

She opened her mouth as if she was going to speak.

"But-but-but!" he stuck up his index finger. "You're right, that isn't really fair. _So,_ I'm willing to make a deal with you."

"Oh really?" She rolled her eyes again for what felt like the millionth time. "What kind of deal?"

"Well," He got up and began stretching. "If you put me back to before I went forward in time, to when Ashe left my room, and if you grant me the ability to not need sleep, then we can switch places at sundown, and then switch back at sunrise. Deal?" He stuck out his hand.

Sothis immediately grabbed it and shook it with no hesitation. "DEAL!"

_I hope I didn't just make a huge mistake._


End file.
